


long story short

by rachelwrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Book Club, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i mean it's not not canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29006847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelwrites/pseuds/rachelwrites
Summary: harry finds himself, amongst other things, pining endlessly for ginny during his sixth year. parvati and seamus, who are doing some pining of their own, decide to take him under their wing. (welcome to book club.)
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas
Comments: 18
Kudos: 222





	long story short

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. fuck jkr. fuck you if you think like jkr. fuck you if you defend jkr. fuck you if you associate with or defend people who defend/associate with/support jkr.
> 
> 2\. now that that's out of the way, this has been in my head for a while! i've always felt that half blood prince was rather unfair to parvati and seamus, because while lavender and dean got their fifteen minutes of fame, parvati and seamus faded to the background. this is how i fixed it.
> 
> 3\. all lyrics are from "long story short", arguably the most underrated and beautiful song on taylor swift's evermore.
> 
> 4\. this is not not canon compliant. could this have happened? no. but could it have happened? maybe. i don't know how to explain it further than that honestly.
> 
> 5\. enjoy!

**i. fatefully, I tried to pick my battles ‘til the battle picked me**

It starts, as many things do in Harry’s life, with the abrupt realization that he’s fairly oblivious.

It’s early on a Saturday morning, and the Great Hall is nearly deserted. No one who doesn’t have to wake up early for breakfast wants to wake up early for breakfast. Harry is sat alone at the Gryffindor table, occasionally leaning back towards Ravenclaw to chat with Luna but mostly moving food around his plate due to the sudden loss of appetite Ginny snogging Dean seems to have brought on.

When Luna finally gets up to head to the library, Harry’s stomach grumbles. He wants to leave too, rather than be anywhere near Dean and Ginny, but apparently he’s hungry so he has to stay and eat his food. Harry sighs as he scoops up a forkful of scrambled eggs and takes a bite. It’s bland, but so are most things nowadays.

“Huh,” a voice says from over his right shoulder, snapping him away from staring. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

Harry turns and finds Parvati Patil sitting next to him. They’ve always been friendly, but they’ve never been close. In fact, he’s rather shocked she hadn’t stopped talking to him entirely after their disastrous Yule Ball outing in fourth year. “How long have you been sitting there?”

Parvati grins. “Long enough. So, Ginny Weasley?” Harry feels his face burn. “Don’t get me wrong,” she continues, “I totally get it. I mean, she’s hilarious and brilliant. Doesn’t hurt that she’s bloody gorgeous. I see why you’re in love with her.”

“I’m _not_ in love with Ginny Weasley!” Harry whisper shouts at her. Realizing his volume levels, he quickly turns towards Ginny to make sure he hasn’t been heard. Luckily, he hasn’t. Unluckily, it’s only because Dean appears to be eating Ginny’s face, which sends Harry spiraling down a new pit of despair. He feels his face fall and Parvati snorts.

“ _Oh, my name is Harry Potter and woe is me_ ,” Parvati says, clearly mocking him, “ _I’m in love with my best friend’s younger sister, and he’s such an arse that he’ll kill me when he finds out_.”

Harry frowns. “Hey, no need to harp on Ron like that,” Harry says, “he’s my best mate. What have you got against him?”

Parvati snorts. “Please, Harry, as if you don’t know.” Harry continues to look at her, entirely blank faced, and her eyes widen. “Do you really not know? I mean, Ron must have been shoving it in your face as much as Lavender has in mine. And don’t try to pretend blokes don’t talk about this stuff because I know you do.”

“Oh,” Harry says, “you’re upset because they’re being gross?”

She laughs. “No, Harry. I feel exactly the same way about them that you do about Ginny and Dean.”

It was Harry’s turn to widen his eyes in shock. “Oh. You’re in love with Ron?” He felt a surge of protectiveness, wanting to defend Hermione from yet another wrench in her rather turbulent love life.

Parvati bangs her head against the table. “ _Christ_ , you’re thick.”

“Oi!” Harry said, a little defensively. He was about to open his mouth when it hit him. “Oh,” he says, “Lavender?” Parvati lifts her head and nods morosely. “I didn’t know you were…”

“A lesbian?” Parvati says, raising an eyebrow. “Problem, Potter?” He could feel her guard going up by the way she spoke.

“Not at all!” He quickly responds. “No problem whatsoever, I promise.” Harry blushes a little thinking about some of his own previous attractions, and just how hypocritical of him it would have been to be critical. “Just, new information, that’s all.”

Parvati visibly relaxes. “Good,” she says. “Now that that’s done with, I’ve decided to take pity on you.”

Harry scoffs. “Gee, thanks. How awfully kind of you.”

“We’ve got a book club,” Parvati continues, seemingly unphased, “for people with problems similar to ours.”

“And what kind of problems would those be?” Harry asks.

“The ‘I’m-desperately-in-love-with-someone-in-a-relationship’ kind of problems.”

“I’m _not_ in love with her!” Harry quietly protests.

Parvati rolls her eyes. “Sure, you’re not. Nine o’clock this evening, Room of Requirement.”

**ii. at the golden gates they once held the key to**

Harry had debated for several hours about whether he should show up. Part of him felt as if he was about to be sacrificed to some evil, wizard deity his muggle upbringing had deprived him a knowledge of. The other part of him was really overcome with a sort of morbid curiosity about what on earth Parvati and the other members of her book club were doing. He’d thought about it so hard he’d entirely zoned out on Hermione while they were studying charms earlier, which head lead to a rather sore feeling on the back of his head from where she smacked him.

Still, Harry finds himself outside the Room of Requirement at five until, with one of Hermione’s books in his hands.

He paces back and forth until he sees Parvati coming from ahead of him. She grins and looks at his book. “Big fan of Austen, Potter?”

Harry, for the first time since picking it up, glances at the front cover of his book. _Pride and Prejudice_ is what it reads. He blushes slightly, realizing he has no idea what it is. “Well, I just grabbed one of Hermione’s books,” Harry says, attempting a casual shrug. “I didn’t want to show up empty handed.”

“You don’t need an actual _book_ ,” Parvati says with a snort, “it’s not actually a book club.”

Harry rolls his eyes and sighs exasperatedly. “Okay, I give up. I have no idea what’s going on here and I desperately need to know.”

Parvati gives him a supportive pat on the shoulder. “Let’s head in. The rest of our membership is already inside.” Parvati focuses, her eyes shutting as she projects what she needs from the Room, and slowly the door starts to appear. When they finally walk in, Harry is surprised to see Seamus Finnigan sitting there, with two empty chairs nearby.

Seamus raises an eyebrow. “Really, Patil? You invited Potter?”

Harry is about to scoff in an attempt to sound righteously offended when Parvati intercedes on his behalf. “Please, Finnigan. I have my reasons. Plus, you two have, well, let’s say _mutual interests_ ,” she says with a wiggle of her eyebrow as she takes her seat. Harry follows her in sitting but looks just as dumbstruck as ever and noticing his confusion, she sighs and gives in. “You both want to break up the same couple you dunce.”

It takes him a moment to realize what she means, and when he does Harry bristles. Seamus also wants to see Ginny and Dean break up, which means… “You’re also in love with Ginny?” Harry says to Seamus, carefully guarded and more jealous than he has any right to be.

Seamus looks at him stone-faced for a moment before turning to Parvati. The two of them make eye contact and burst out laughing. Harry looks back and forth between them, searching for any answer. “Mate,” Seamus says when he finally catches his breath, “I’m really fucking gay.”

Harry gapes for a moment, promptly shutting his mouth and blushing when he realizes how rude he’s being. “Right then,” he barrels on, hoping to somehow recover, “that’s great. Dean, then?”

“Yeah,” Seamus says, nodding, “since about second year.”

Harry smiles in affirmation and notes, “I fought a basilisk in second year,” in an attempt to commiserate. Suddenly he groans, dropping his head into his hands. “Ginny fancied _me_ when we were in second year,” he says. “ _Merlin_ , why didn’t I realize then?”

“Because it’s a textbook gay experience to realize you have feelings for your best friend at a young age and pine about them forever,” Parvati says, her hand patting the top of his head to comfort him, “and _you_ , Mr. Potter, are our new token straight.” Harry bristled at the misidentification but made no move to correct her. Seemingly unaware of his discomfort, Parvati barrels on. “First order of business,” she says, turning her attention to Seamus, “You told me Dean drew you again this week?”

Seamus grins and dives into a story of how he was studying for hours with Dean, only for Dean to emerge with a portrait of Seamus rather than his completed Transfiguration homework. Parvati then talks about her tea leaf reading that destined her and Lavender to be together and that’s how the rest of the book club meeting goes, back and forth between the two of them without so much of a glance spared towards Harry after his initial entrance. He swears he’s never going back.

**iii. ‘cause i fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole**

He goes back.

Then next week Parvati invites Harry again, and he politely declines, but in the end Ron and Hermione’s bickering puts him over the edge. He storms out of the Common Room with not a word to either of his friends and busts into the Room of Requirement a minute before the clock strikes nine, saying “I have demands.”

Parvati and Seamus, already seated in their chairs, looked at him dumbfounded. When neither of them said anything, he barrels on. “Right then. I get crushes easily, and that’s okay. Hermione says it’s because of the ‘lack of affection I received as a child’ or whatever,” he says, putting air quotes around Hermione’s words, “but it doesn’t make my feelings any less valid than yours, just because you two have had the same person forever. Secondly, I’m not straight, and I’d really prefer if you didn’t refer to me as such. And _finally_ , if this is really a place to talk about our pent up emotions, I would really appreciate the opportunity to talk about Ginny sometime!” He finished, breathing heavily, and waited for a response.

Seamus spoke up first. “Merlin,” he said, “there’s a lot to unpack there.” Harry raises his eyebrows and Seamus immediately looks fearful. “Not that it’s a bad thing!” he says. “Of course, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve liked someone, we were just messing with you mate. Your feelings are what are most important obviously. We love feelings, here in our little feelings club,” he finished with a crooked grin.

“And sorry for mislabeling you,” Parvati says quietly. “We both know how shit that is and it’s awful that we did it to you. What term do you use?”

“Um, bisexual?” Harry says. “At least, that’s the word Hermione came up with when I was telling her and Ron last year. They’re the only two who know. Well, them and now you, I suppose.”

Parvati smiles. “Well, that’s great then. Welcome to the club. Not the book club,” she clarifies, “the other club, I mean. Are we allowed to ask more invasive questions?” Harry thinks about it for a moment before nodding. “How did you figure it out?”

Harry shrugs. “The summer before third year was when I realized, I think. I had crushes on girls in primary school, so I didn’t really know anything was up. I wasn’t absolutely miserable that summer because I was still getting letters from Ron and Hermione and the Dursleys were being relatively civil. Dudley, that’s my cousin, and his stupid gang were just as annoying as ever though. But one of the guys was kind of nice to me, always told them to lay off. One day Dudley tried to deck me— missed, mind you— but I still fell and scraped up my knee pretty bad. The rest of them ran away laughing but Leo, that was his name, he stayed behind to help me clean up. Really all he did was pour some water from his bottle on me and put a band aid over the biggest cut, but I looked up and his eyes were sparkling and the wind was blowing through his hair and I just thought—” Harry cuts himself off, looking at Parvati and Seamus’s faces. He’s a little embarrassed at having gone on so long.

Parvati whistles. “You really do get crushes easily, huh?”

“Yeah,” Harry says, smiling bashfully. “So, I was freaked, and then there was Cho, and then there was Cedric which was a mess because of Cho, and then there was Cho again which was a mess because of Cedric. And now Ginny. So, yeah.”

“I always thought if you fancied a bloke it would be Malfoy,” Seamus pipes up.

Harry whips his head toward his dormmate in shock. “Are you joking?”

Seamus shakes his head. “I mean, he’s awful, but he’s proper fit. With the blonde hair and everything.”

“The day I fancy Malfoy,” Harry says slowly, to show how strongly he believes his words, “is the day that you should kill me, Finnigan.” He pauses for a moment, thoughtful. “Actual, check to make sure it’s not someone with Polyjuice potion first. Just in case. And then murder _them_ for making it look like I fancy Malfoy.”

“Noted,” Seamus says, giving a nod in affirmation. “So, Ginny?”

Harry tilts his head. “What about her?”

Parvati snorts. “That was demand number three, you idiot. You wanted to talk about Ginny more. Got any stories for us?”

“Oh, um,” Harry says, blushing, “I haven’t actually talked to her all week. I was little stressed with um, school, and you guys, and uh,” he doesn’t have a more eloquent way to say it, so he waves his hand adds, “Chosen One stuff?”

The room is deadly silent for a moment before Parvati and Dean burst out laughing.

**iv. and you passed right by**

Ginny’s joking around with Demelza on the pitch, and Harry’s trying not to stare. He’s trying really hard, and he’s sure that he’s succeeding. He’s absolutely not looking at the way her ginger hair is floating in the wind, or the way her freckles have darkened in the bright sun. He’s most definitely not looking at how when she throws her head back laughing it leaves the place where her neck meets her shoulder, a pale sliver of skin, entirely open and exposed, perfect for him to just—

“Harry!” He’s jolted out of his thoughts by Demelza hollering at him. “What are you staring at?”

Harry shrugs to play it off. “Just looking at two of my allegedly ‘all-star’ chasers slacking off. Such a rare sight! _Not_.” As soon as the word come out of his mouth he feels the urge to groan. “Not” jokes? How awful and cheesy could he possibly be?

Luckily, Ginny (and okay, Demelza too) seem to not care too much. At least if the snort in response he gets from Ginny means anything. He smiles at her and she returns it, before she starts walking over to him.

Harry promised himself he wasn’t freaking out. Absolutely not! Just because the monster has shut down his entire nervous system and the only thing running through his head is the monster saying _GinnyGinnyGinny_ — all signs of a perfectly stable, operational human.

Ginny stops a few inches away from him. Her upturned nose huffs a little bit as she reaches forward and places her hand on his upper arm. “If you don’t want to see us relaxing,” she says cheekily, “maybe it’s time for you to end the water break? After all, you are the captain here.”

“Um, right,” Harry nods quickly, “sure.” Ginny flashes him a grin and wanders back off to Demelza, picking up her broom. His arm still feels electric where she touched it.

“Mate,” he hears Ron say from somewhere behind him, “are we starting back up again or what?” That’s when the crushing guilt sets in. The monster laughs at him. _Ha ha ha_ , it seems to say, _you’re into your best mate’s sister_.

_Well obviously_ , Harry thinks at it aggressively, _you would know that though wouldn’t you?_ And then _sane people probably don’t do this do they?_

The monster offers no response.

“Right!” Harry yells, making sure every member of his team can hear him. “Pick up your brooms, I want you back in the air for three laps around the pitch! Then we’ll go over that strategy we were talking about earlier.”

**v. no more keeping score**

Harry bursts into the Room of Requirement, two minutes late and grinning. Parvati and Seamus, early as always, look up at him expectantly. He smiles even wider and says. “She talked to me this week.”

Seamus and Parvati start cheering.

**vi. misery**

Harry does attempt to get Hermione to join book club.

It happens rather innocuously one afternoon as he’s watching Hermione work on her Charms essay in the Common Room. Ron walks down from the dormitory and out of the portrait hole in the wall with not so much as a glance towards to pair, probably not even noticing their presence. But Harry notices, he notices the way Hermione’s fingers tighten around her quill, and the way her eyes crinkle up and water slightly.

“You know,” he says gently, putting a hand on her shoulder, “I’m part of a book club I think you might like.”

Hermione pauses her writing to look up at him and smile. “A book club? That sounds fantastic Harry! I wasn’t even aware that Hogwarts had a book club. What are you reading? I’ll be sure to catch up.”

“It’s not really that sort of book club,” Harry says, hoping to stop Hermione’s train of thought before she gets too excited about reading.

She pauses a moment, confused. “What kind of book club is it?

Harry takes a deep breath. “Well for starters, we don’t really read any books. It’s for people, well, people with problems like ours,” Harry says, repeating the words Parvati had said to him not too long ago.

Hermione, however, clearly does not catch his meaning. “A book club where you don’t read? Honestly, what’s even the point?” Harry tunes out the rest of her tirade, hoping that her ranting would at least help her get out some of the frustration she was feeling. And that was the end of that.

**vii. missing me**

“And then,” Parvati says, smiling widely, “she gave me the last croissant!” Seamus claps sarcastically and Parvati rolls her eyes. “Oh right, laugh it up Finnigan. When was the last time Dean gave you his last bit of food?”

Seamus snorts. “Just because food is the way to your heart Patil, doesn’t mean it’s the same for the rest of us.” He then turns to Harry and gives him a look. Harry’s not entirely sure what the look is conveying, but he smiles nervously and nods, and Seamus seems to accept that as an answer.

In all honesty, Harry’s a little distracted today. He’s been reeling since his meeting with Dumbledore last night, learning more about Tom Riddle, the man he would someday have to kill. The concept of killing someone alone is freaking him out. Even if it is Voldemort. Nonetheless, he feels bad about only being half-present during book club. But then again, Chosen One, fate of the wizarding worlds on his shoulders, priorities?

Parvati scoffs. “Please, Seamus. We all have our weird things. Yours is holding on to drawings Dean does of you and, quite frankly, it’s a little odd.”

This forces Seamus to dive into a rant about how they’re not drawings but _portraits_ rather, and how art is the first language of love, how _you wouldn’t know romance if it bit you on the arse, Patil_ , and, well, Harry slides deep back into his thoughts.

“Potter?” Harry blinks and finds Parvati and Seamus both staring at him. Seamus continues with an, “are you okay?”

Harry nods. “Yeah, brilliant.” He flashes them a grin, but if their faces are anything to go on it’s entirely unconvincing.

Parvati smiles gently. “Harry,” she says, “you know you can talk to us, right? Even if it’s not about your love life.” He must look shocked because she quickly backtracks. “Only if you want to of course. But it’s always an option.”

He thinks on it for a moment. There’s no way he can tell them about his lessons with Dumbledore, he just can’t. But after a few book clubs, Harry knows that they’re good at emotional advice. They won’t judge like Ron and they won’t worry like Hermione. And he rather likes spending time with them, so he decides to throw them a bone. “I’ve been thinking about my Godfather lately,” he says, which is of course true. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t miss Sirius.

“Not to be invasive,” Seamus asks, “but I thought he killed your parents?” Seeing Harry’s look of surprise, Seamus laughs. “Come off it mate, you must know by now that you talk in your sleep.”

Harry’s face reddens. “Ron might’ve mentioned it.” He coughs quickly, trying to regain his train of thought. “He didn’t actually though. He was framed and I never got the chance to clear his name. And, um, now he’s dead. So that sucks.” Harry nods, feeling pleased with himself for expelling all the words he did.

Parvati grabs his hand. “I’m sorry, Harry. Were you two close?”

Harry almost shakes his head before thinking better of it. For the two years he’d known Sirius, the man had been one of the most important people in his life, start to finish. So he nods. “He knew my parents,” Harry croaks out, not realizing how emotional he was until hearing his own voice sound so raw, “but that wasn’t all of it. He cared about me too, just because I was me. Not because I was some hero or whatever, but because he was my family, and family loves you.” Seamus grabs his other hand and Harry squeezes tightly, thanking them for the comfort.

They sit like that for a moment, hands intertwined, in silence. Parvati is the first one to speak up. “Do you want to talk about him? Happy stories I mean.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asks, looking between the both of them. “You guys only do this once a week, and it’s to talk about our love lives, and—”

“Mate,” Seamus says, “we’re friends. We can talk about anything anytime we want. But right now, I think you need to talk about your Godfather.”

Harry smiles and takes a deep breath. “Sirius was really good friends with my dad,” he starts, “and Remus. They had a fourth friend but he’s the one who got my parents killed. But Sirius, Remus, and my dad were all best friends until the end.” Harry smiles. “My favorite story Sirius told me was about how hard my dad worked to set up him and Remus only to discover they’d already been dating for six months.” He pauses for a moment, thinking. “Oh wait! You guys know Remus? Remember Professor Lupin?”

Parvati gasps and Seamus grins. “Five knuts at your earliest convenience Patil,” he says. “I _knew_ I got a gay vibe from him.”

Parvati rolls her eyes. “Time and a place Seamus.” She looks at Harry encouragingly, and he realizes he’s still holding their hands. They don’t seem to mind though, so he doesn’t let go.

“Well, Sirius and Remus started dating right after O.W.L.s,” Harry continues, “but they were keeping it a secret. Around Halloween of their sixth year, my dad got fed up about them dancing around each other and resolved to get them together by Christmas. He started with…”

**viii. actually, i always felt i must look better in the rear view**

“And then he… Harry, are you even listening to me?”

Harry comes back into focus looking at Hermione, trying to remember where they’d left off. She was explaining their latest Defense lesson to him (he didn’t need it), but he had given all that up to stare off into space.

Now back in reality, Harry realizes he’s studying Hermione’s face. Hermione’s great. She’s smart, and pretty, and kind, and one of his best friends, but they’re never going to be like _that_ , as much as some of their professors seem to suggest it. He ruminates on it for a moment. Wouldn’t it be easier if they could be? They could start a perfectly sensible life together. They care about each other, they’d make great parents someday. But it could never happen.

It all comes down to the fact that her eyes are the wrong shade of brown.

Hermione’s eyes are light, with flecks of yellow in them. Harry’s heard Ron, on more than one occasion, curse under his breath about how they “sparkle in the sunlight” or some gobshite like that. They’re pretty eyes, sure.

Harry’s looking for a darker color, a deeper brown. Reminiscent of chocolate, or the wood on wet trees. Something mysterious and all encompassing, a brown that drags you in and never lets you go.

There are plenty of other reasons Harry could never date Hermione. Plenty of non-Ginny related reasons. Plenty of non- _Ron_ related reasons, even. Her eyes are still the wrong shade of brown though.

“Harry?” Hermione repeats, looking concerned. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

And how do you tell your best friend that you were thinking about how you could never date her, and you’re sorry about that? Rather presumptuous when you know she feels exactly the same way about you. So rather than attempt to explain all that he just says. “Your eyes are the wrong shade of brown.”

Hermione blinks at him, slowly, and Harry cringes.

After another moment, she smiles softly. “If you need to talk about it, I’m always here, yeah?”

Harry freezes before relaxing into a grin. “Yeah, ‘Mione, I know. Now let’s get back to Defense.”

**ix. the knife cuts both ways**

Seamus is talking about Dean’s art again. It’s turned into him waxing poetic about the way the other boy looks while he’s creating. Seamus has touched on the way his eyes light up, and how he sticks out his tongue and gently bites on his bottom lip, only to finally land on how gorgeous Dean’s hands are.

“Oh yeah,” Harry agrees, “I’ve noticed that Dean does have really nice hands.”

Seamus freezes up as if he’s been stunned, and quiet quickly falls over the Room of Requirement. Parvati starts laughing hysterically. “Oh my god,” she says, “you should _not_ have said that.”

“What?” Harry asks, starting to panic, “why not? What did I do wrong? I was just agreeing with Seamus that Dean has lovely—”

Seamus lunges.

**x. rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky**

It’s taken Harry ages to escape McLaggen. After continuously objectifying his best friend (which was obviously wrong and awful, but also, _ew_ ) he’d moved onto Quidditch and began questioning Harry’s strategy. It’d taken him forever to finally make an exit, only for him to realize he lost Luna ages ago and was standing in the middle of the party entirely alone.

He needs to _not_ be thinking about Draco and the damn Unbreakable Vow, whatever the hell that is. Not until he can talk to Hermione and Ron about it, and neither of them are there at the current moment.

Harry scans the room, hoping to find his date, only to be distracted hearing a laugh he knows almost too well at this point. Harry’s eyes snap to the dance floor immediately and he sees Ginny in the deepest of dips, held there securely by Dean. She’s smiling at him, a far cry from the glaring the pair of them were doing earlier tonight. Harry feels his heart drop through the floor looking at the way her eyes light up looking at him.

Ginny looks gorgeous. She always does, but tonight especially. She’s wearing a blue dress that flows gently down to the floor, and she matches the shade to her eyeshadow which accentuates the dark hue of her eyes. Harry watches the two of them continue to dance, smiling at each other.

Finally, Dean lets go of her waist and Harry thinks he might be treated to a reprieve, only for him to extend his arm and spin Ginny tightly back into him, wrapping his arms around her. Harry inhales sharply and let his eyes shut, allowing himself for a moment to just imagine. Imagine that _he’s_ dancing with Ginny, that it’s _his_ hands on Ginny’s waist, her hands around _his_ neck, and he can feel the love unfurl in his stomach as Ginny leans her head on _his_ chest.

Luna finds him again and asks him to dance, so he politely agrees. He takes her to the dance floor and makes it through one, two, three songs before the realization hits hit like a glass bottle to the head, shattering over him.

_The love_.

Well. That’s new, isn’t it?

**xi. like the war of words i shouted in my sleep**

“Hey,” Harry says, interrupting Seamus’s discussion of the wink Dean gave him during their last Divination lecture, “how do you know that you’re in love?” When Parvati and Seamus freeze, he continues, “Merlin. You realize you two do that a lot, the whole stop and stare thing?”

“Well,” Parvati says, “maybe it’s because _you_ keep surprising us.”

There’s a moment of silence before Seamus chimes in. “They fight, you know?”

Dean and Ginny, he means. Harry nods. “Yeah,” he says, “I’ve heard them.”

“It’s worse than they let on,” Seamus says, “there’ll be some days that he comes back to the dorm with tear stains on his shirt, and some days he’s blue in the face from yelling. It’s neither of their faults,” he adds, “they’re just, not always great for each other.”

“Right,” Harry says, unsure of where Seamus is going.

Seamus looks at him, entirely seriously. “It hurts, right? Seeing him all upset. And the worst part of it is I should tell him to stop it. And I do, sometimes. I remind him that if he’s hurting he can leave, and she’ll understand. She’s not awful, and she’s probably feeling a similar way. But then his eyes glaze over. And he says, ‘But I’m so happy with her.’ I want to scream at him that he’s not, that anyone sane would tell you that they’re experts at making each other miserable as well as happy but the truth of it is that a lot of the time she _does_ make him happy.”

He pauses for a moment to take a deep breath. “And Dean being happy, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world to me. I haven’t always had the easiest go of it, you know, but Dean has always done his best to make it better for me. So, if Ginny makes it better for him, don’t I owe to him to support that? How can I tell him that he’d be better off with me when I don’t know that for sure?” Seamus sighs. “That’s what love is. I _hurt_ looking at him with her, but I know it’s important for him to be happy, even when it’s not with me. It’s not that his happiness is more important than mine, it’s that I understand it’s _separate_ from mine, even though it’s an absolute shite feeling.”

Harry waits a moment before standing up from his chair to walk over to Seamus. He drags his roommate out of the chair and quickly draws him into a hug. Having the other boy pulled close to him, Harry quickly realizes that this is the first time he’s hugging Seamus. How is it possible they’ve never hugged before? Harry’s known Seamus for five and a half years, they’ve lived together all that time, and yet he never knew that Seamus felt this way, that Seamus felt at _all_ to be entirely honest.

Parvati quietly gets up and joins them. She wraps her arms around both their shoulders and whispers, “I don’t have a dramatic speech like that or anything. But I knew I was in love when I realized I never wanted to be without her. Like Seamus said it doesn’t matter if Lavender is my girlfriend or my best friend, I just know I couldn’t go a day without talking to her. If I don’t talk to her, it’s not a good day. So yeah, that’s how I knew.”

Harry laughs, a little wetly, and only then realizes that he’s crying. A quick glance lets him know that his friends were crying too. “I didn’t realize,” Harry says, “how much I care about her. And I’m worried that there’s so little time left.” He pulls his Parvati and Seamus in tighter. “I’m glad I got time with you two though.”

**xii. no more tug of war, now i just know there’s more**

Harry feels a bit like he’s floating all through Christmas night. With trying to explain the Draco mess to Ron, Arthur, and Remus (who he still feels the need to walk on eggshells around, because though he knows the other man would never say it, Sirius really is _Harry’s_ fault after all) it had been a stressful Christmas eve, and Percy’s arrival on Christmas morning didn’t make It any better.

But Christmas night? Is going fantastically well. The extended Weasley clan is all wearing their newest sweaters and Harry feels perfectly stuffed from Mrs. Weasley’s Christmas dinner. He’s sitting on the couch downstairs in the Burrow, waiting for Ron to return with his wizard’s chess set, when Ginny sits down beside him, a tray of cupcakes in hand. “Waiting for Ron?” she asks.

Harry nods, trying to appear unaffected by the wisps of red hair that have escaped her ponytail to rest at the back of her neck. He manages to squeak out a, “Wizard’s chess,” in explanation.

Ginny snorts. “So basically, you’re sitting around waiting to get your arse kissed.”

“Yeah,” Harry says, starting to relax, “pretty much.”

Ginny gets a wicked look in her eyes and smirks. “Cupcake?” she asks picking up a chocolate flavored one from the plate she’d put on the table. He nods and moves to reach for it but she quickly pulls her hand back. “No, I’ll feed it to you, don’t worry.”

Her quick movement forces him to look at her wrist. There sat a silver charm bracelet with a star and a horse, Ginny’s Patronus. Seeing as she hadn’t had it the night before, it quickly becomes obvious that the bracelet is a Christmas gift from Dean. Harry’s mouth dries and his throat closes up. He quickly nods, realizing that going too long without answering would look suspicious.

She smiles sweetly and slowly moves the cupcake towards his mouth. He cautiously opens his mouth, suddenly nervous at the intimacy of the gesture. Then Ginny grins and pushes the cupcake towards him a lightning speed, landing it on his face and smearing frosting all over his nose. Harry blinks in shock before starting to laugh. “Oops,” she says innocently, “did I miss?”

Bracelet forgotten, Harry grabs another cupcake and flips it upside down before smashing it down onto her hair. “Oops,” he responds cheekily, “looks like I missed too.”

Ginny looks murderous, except the glimmer in her eyes gives away her true amusement. “Oh, you’re in for it now, Potter,” she says, grabbing as many cupcakes from the plate as she possibly can.

Harry does the same, managing to grab four of them before diving over the couch to take cover. “Game on, Weasley!”

**xiii. climbed right back up the cliff**

They’ve gathered in the Room of Requirement for the first time since second term has started, and Harry’s been regaling them with all of his Ginny stories from over the break. He leaves out the charm bracelet, so as not to upset Seamus, but it’s nice to talk about the good times with the ability to be entirely honest. Parvati and Seamus seem sufficiently jealous of his winter break, though.

“I would literally kill to spend Christmas with Lavender,” Parvati says, “but her family’s really intense about the whole ‘holidays’ thing. And my parents like seeing me and Padma when they can. And, well, I like spending time with Padma seeing as it’s sometimes hard to here.” Seamus nods in assent as Parvati sighs and continues. “Still though. Two weeks of winter wonderland with Lavender.” She gets a dreamy look on her face.

Harry smiles so wide it could split his face. “Her hair was covered in snowflakes. Like a princess.” Parvati groans and Seamus starts laughing. “I’m serious!” Harry says, attempting to defend himself. “Have you ever seen something pretty then snow on someone’s hair?”

Seamus continues his snickering. “The only thing I saw of Lavender over the hols was her gifts.” Harry tries to stifle a snort before Parvati fixes him with a glare. “Don’t even start,” she warns, “I know what she got her precious _Won-Won_.”

That’s when Harry starts cackling. Seamus’s eyes widen. “Wait,” he asks, “what did she get him?”

Harry laughs even harder, doubling over and clutching his stomach. Parvati’s eyes are burning a decidedly angry hole into the back of his head which makes him want to laugh harder, but out of kindness he decides to reign it in. “Later,” he promises Seamus. Turning back to Parvati he asks, “So what did Lavender get you anyway?”

Parvati smiles, still attempting to look annoyed but clearly mollified by the thought of the other girl. “A pair of earrings she made herself,” Parvati says, “dangly ones, with little crystal balls at the end! All I got her were some cruddy divination books.”

“Ginny gave me a clipboard that has a quidditch pitch on it,” Harry says, “and I can charm it to run through plays. She says it’ll help me be a better captain. Which isn’t exactly a compliment but hey, I’ll take it. She also smashed a cupcake in my face.” He turns to Seamus. “What did Dean get you?”

Seamus turns red. “I’m not saying. You lot would only laugh at me.”

That piques Harry’s interest, and clearly Parvati’s too if the way her head swivels towards the other boy says anything. “ _Seamus_ ,” she implores, “you simply can _not_ say something like that and then not tell us!”

“It’s nothing,” Seamus says, shaking his head, “Really, it’s not even that bad. I shouldn’t have said that.” Harry and Parvati stare at him and he cracks. “Okay, well it _is_ that bad, but I like it, okay? It’s special to me and I appreciate it no matter how embarrassing it is that I haven’t taken it off since I got it.”

The gears start whirring to life in Harry’s head. _Taken it off_. “Seamus,” he says, “what is it?” Seamus shakes his head but Harry needs to know, needs to know if for once in his life his hunch is taking him in the right direction (wrong about Snape, wrong about Draco once—jury’s still out this time around, wrong about Sirius, wrong about Crouch, but maybe, just _maybe_ he’s right about the bracelet) and he glances at Parvati, hoping his psychic scream of _do something!_ gets through.

“We won’t make fun of you,” Parvati says, “we promise.” Seamus looks at Harry who quickly nods in agreement.

Seamus sighs and rolls up his sleeve. Harry’s breath catches. On his wrist lies a silver charm bracelet, fixed with a heart and a small, wolfish animal. “Dean got me a charm bracelet,” Seamus says, resigned. “It’s got a heart, and a fox which—”

“It’s your Patronus,” Harry breathes out.

Seamus raises an eyebrow. “How did you know that Potter?”

“Well, um,” he says, scratching the back of his neck and unsure how to dig himself out of this hole he’s created for himself, “I remember everyone’s Patronus from the D.A. And, well—”

“Really?” Parvati says. “What’s mine?”

“You never once cast a corporeal in D.A.,” Harry says flippantly. Remembering to be polite, he adds a quick, “not that that’s a bad thing. But, more importantly, it’s because Ginny got a charm bracelet exactly like that with a horse. Which is her Patronus.”

Seamus gapes. “Really?”

Harry nods. “Except, well, hers had a star.”

“I’m confused,” Parvati says. “I thought you said hers had a horse. Her Patronus instead of Seamus’s, right?”

“Yes,” Harry says, “I mean—argh. Hers had a horse where Seamus’s fox is. And it had a star instead of the heart.” He looks at Seamus, hoping he hasn’t accidentally done anything to ruin the gift. “I’m sorry, mate, I really wasn’t even gonna bring it up but then I saw yours and—”

“Stop,” Seamus says firmly. Harry quickly shuts his mouth. “I just need a minute to, um, okay. He got me and Ginny essentially the same gift?” Harry nods. “A charm bracelet. With our Patronuses. Except mine has a heart where hers has a star.” Harry nods again and Seamus takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

After a minute of silence, Parvati is the first to venture to speak. “Finnigan, are you doing alright?”

Seamus’s eyes snap open and his face splits into the widest grin Harry’s ever seen him wear. “Never better,” he says. “I got a heart!”

**xiv. and he feels like home**

A few days later, Harry’s sitting through a remarkably tense meal. He’s got Ron on his left and Hermione on his right, which wouldn’t be bad on its own but today Lavender had decided to sit directly across from Ron. Harry wasn’t sure how’d they’d avoided this situation thus far: Ron and Lavender had been dating for months, surely they must eat together every once in a while? But the frustration is coming off of Hermione in waves, who was furiously scribbling down the Charms homework they had just been assigned.

Lavender laughs at joke Ron makes, a high pitched and honestly rather pretty sound, and Hermione’s quill snaps. Harry sighs and rests his head on the table, on top of his arms. Maybe he could take a nap?

As Harry begins to drift off, the volume of the Great Hall starts to fade into a dull backtrack. He feels very at piece until he feels a sharp jab against his shin from underneath the table. He looks up, perturbed, to see Parvati smirking at him from across the table. When had she gotten there? But she’s next to Lavender, so it makes sense, he supposes. It wasn’t until she kicked him again that Harry looked her straight on.

Parvati grins, and jerks her head a little to the right. Harry looks to both of his sides to ensure neither Ron nor Hermione are paying sufficient attention to him. When he knows that he probably could have swallowed a Draught of Living Death without either of his friends noticing, he lets his eyes wander in the direction Parvati was pointing him.

He finds Dean and Seamus, at the other end of the table. Dean is sitting closer to them, next to Seamus, with Ginny nowhere in sight. The two of them are looking over Dean’s sketchbook, smiling. It’s a sweet scene, and it brings a small smile to Harry’s face.

Harry turns back to Parvati, whose seemingly permanent smirk turns into a frown when she sees his expression. She tilts her head again before tapping the table, so Harry looks _back_ to Dean and Seamus and that’s when he sees it: Dean’s hand.

Dean has always had nice hands, which Harry had once made the mistake of commenting on in front Seamus. They seemed soft and his fingers were long, fingers suited for an artist of any type. Perhaps a pianist, or a sculptor, or a sketcher like Dean was. But it wasn’t Dean’s hand itself that drew Harry and Parvati’s attention, but rather what it was doing.

Which was covering Seamus’s.

Dean’s hand, over Seamus’s hand. Covering it. Dean’s hand, covering Seamus’s hand with the charm bracelet Dean had given Seamus for Christmas on it. Their hands. Touching.

Suddenly, Harry understands the look Parvati was giving him. He feels a smug smile creep across his face and looks at her again. Parvati beams at him, satisfied he’s found the correct answer this time around. Their next book club is going to be a lot of fun.

**xv. pushed from the precipice**

“So,” Harry starts, “that Apparition lesson today, huh?”

Parvati grins at him. “Truly. I’m never going to be able to land in one of those hoops.

They’re waiting for Seamus to break. He’s trying to hold his tongue, refusing to explain the scene Parvati and Harry witnessed in the Great Hall the other day, so they’ve decided to bore him in return. Simply put, book club has never been more exciting.

Seamus looks between Parvati and Harry, clearly nervous. Harry returns the other boy’s gaze and says, “Seamus, how did you like the Apparition lesson today?”

It’s a moment before Seamus bursts out with a “Fine! I’ll tell you whatever it is you rubes want to know!”

Harry starts cackling while Parvati narrows her eyes. “The hand,” she says, looking pointedly at Seamus, “what on _earth_ was that about?”

Seamus turns pink. “Oh,” he says, “I hadn’t realized you’d noticed that,” which, of course, only serves to make Harry laugh even harder. Parvati steels her gaze and Seamus puts his hands up in a motion of surrender. “I don’t know, okay? We’ve been talking the past few days, like more than usual, and then we were talking and then he put his hand on mine and I’m pretty sure I blacked out after that, okay?”

Harry falls off the chair laughing.

**xvi. i was in the alley, surrounded on all sides**

With February comes the realization that a fellow Gryffindor has been holding out on them for quite some time now.

“I don’t want to participate in this,” Neville whines, “it feels _wrong_.”

“Nothing’s _wrong_ with it, Longbottom,” Parvati insists. “We’re just talking about our pining! And how much we’re in love with the people we’re in love with!”

“I’m _not_ in love with her,” Neville says darkly.

Seamus snorts. “Yeah, that’s exactly the same tune Potter was singing a few months ago.”

“Oi!” Harry interrupts. “No need to be rude about it.”

Parvati rolls her eyes. “Blah, blah, we were right, you were wrong. Stop being sore about it.”

Harry pouts before turning back to Neville. “When did you realize you liked Luna?” He cringes at his awkward phrasing and attempts to recover. “I mean, when you realized you thought of her as more than a friend, or—”

“When I realized I had feelings for her, you mean?” Neville asks. Harry nods. “Um, I guess when we got back to school? Or maybe over the summer, when we were writing letters.” Neville sighs and smiles. “She kind of sneaks up on you.”

“Wait,” Seamus says, “why is Neville even here? His girl’s _single_.”

“She’s not my girl!” Neville squeaks in protest.

Harry sighs. “Seamus, he’s here because we’re a supportive group of friends. Right Parvati?”

Parvati looks thoughtful for a moment before saying. “Are we sure she’s not gay?” Harry groans while Seamus eggs her on. Neville looks like he wants to pass out. “No, let me finish,” she says, realizing Harry’s about to interrupt her, “the homemade earrings, the little magic creatures, the _glasses_? I mean, it’s a real possibility.”

“I’m never coming back here,” Neville moans, putting his head in his hands. Harry just pats him on the shoulder.

**xvii. clung to the nearest lips**

When Harry arrives their next book club, Parvati has brought out the firewhiskey. He’s not exactly surprised, so he sighs and reaches his hand out for a glass, which Seamus gladly provides him with.

“To Hermione Granger!” Parvati cheers. “I could bloody kiss her.”

Harry raises an eyebrow. “You know, it was _Ron_ who said her name. She had very little control over it.”

Parvati scoffs. “I’m mad at Ron. He broke my best friend’s heart.” Harry looks at her pointedly and she rolls her eyes. “Fine. Even if I didn’t exclusively kiss women, Hermione’s prettier than him by a mile. And she’s stopped playing _Jolene_ when she thinks it’s only her in the dorms, which is, quite frankly, is a blessing of its own.”

“I heard you were there, Harry,” Seamus says, “How did it all go down?”

“It was nasty,” Harry says, meaning it entirely. “I was there in the morning, and Hermione came in, swearing up and down she was ready to apologize to him even though she wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong—”

“What did she do wrong?” Seamus asked, genuinely curious.

Harry shrugs. “Snogged Krum two years ago, I think? But I think more so that it bruised Ron’s ego. Told him off for it plenty of times but it’s a thing with them, once an argument starts it just doesn’t stop. But anyway, she’s sitting at the side of his bed with me and then Lavender bursts in, yelling about the fact that no one had told her and she’s his girlfriend and that _he needs his Lav-Lav_ , and then _that’s_ when Ron says it. Mumbles something, first sign of life we’ve seen from him in hours, so we try to get him to say it again, and he manages it. Croaks out: ‘Mione. It was bloody awful, Lavender ran out of there crying.”

“She’s rather put off him now,” Parvati says, grinning, “I reckon it’s only a matter of time.”

Harry nods and raises his glass. “To Hermione Granger, for finally getting through to a boy with the emotional range of teaspoon!”

Not asking any questions, Parvati and Seamus echo him with a “To the emotional range of a teaspoon!”

**xviii. if someone comes at us, this time i’m ready**

Harry’s stuck in the hospital wing for a bit longer, and boredom starts to get the better of him. Madame Pomfrey keeps telling him he needs rest, but he feels entirely incapable of getting to sleep. “Count nifflers or something,” she had said, “just be quiet and at least make an _attempt_ to go to sleep, Mr. Potter.”

He sighs and leans his head back, letting his eyes shut. His mind wanders to the events of the day, how he was going to murder McLaggen at the nearest opportunity, falling off his broom, Ginny visiting him while he was asleep…

Because that’s what Ron had said, wasn’t it? _Ginny came in while you were unconscious_. She could have said any manner of thing and Harry would be none the wiser. Originally he’d imagined a scene with her sprawled over him, sobbing and apologetic, but the more and more he thought about it the less it felt like the Ginny he knew and loved.

Probably she just chewed him out for them losing. And then apologized for it, even though none of it had been her fault ( _stupid Cormac, when Harry got his hands on him_ ). Maybe she even would have looked at him, a little sad, and said “Get better soon, Potter, okay?”

The thought makes him smile. Ginny, begrudgingly worried over him. She likes to pretend she isn’t, but she is one of the kindest people he knows. Grinning and thinking about Ginny yelling at him to wake up so he could be at practice, Harry slowly drifts off into sleep.

Until he remembers the house elves.

**xix. past me, i want to tell you not to get lost in these petty things**

“Any day now,” Parvati is saying, “I mean, Harry, you’re closer with Ron. Any chance he ends it first?”

“Hm?” Harry asks, snapping back to attention. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

Parvati tilts her head, as if she’s trying to get a better look at him. “You seem kind of off today. Is everything okay?” Harry nodded. It wasn’t that anything was wrong, more that he was just waiting for something _to_ go wrong. It had been three days since he had set Dobby and Kreacher after Draco, and he was always waiting for them to update him.

“Mate, it doesn’t seem like everything’s alright.” Seamus says, frowning slightly.

Harry likes Parvati and Seamus, it’s not that he doesn’t. It’s that he’s made enough of a mess of it by dragging Hermione, Ron and Ginny (not to mention the entire Weasley family), Neville, Luna, and everyone else in the Order into his problems.

“Just tired, honestly,” he says, smiling at them. “And Parvati, he’s told me he wants to break up with Lavender, just isn’t sure how to. It’s not like he’s ever had this problem before.”

“Yes!” Parvati shrieks, beginning to babble enthusiastically about how she’ll go from _shoulder to cry_ on to _lips to kiss_. Seamus is cackling at her energy and the sight brings a genuine smile to Harry’s face for the first time in a few days. With them, it’s easy to pretend the weight of the world isn’t on his shoulders sometimes.

They’re just normal teens.

**xx. if the shoe fits, walk in it everywhere you go**

Harry’s on his free period when he sees it. He’s decided to take some space away from everyone and go on a walk (read: mope about his life somewhere his friends can’t attempt to micromanage his emotions), but there he is, three feet away from the lake, and he sees it.

His jaw drops as he turns on his heel and sprints back to the castle. He _knows_ he passed Seamus in the courtyard just a few minutes ago, he’s entirely sure of it. He finds Seamus sitting next to Dean, talking animatedly. “Seamus,” he says, a little out of breath, “you have to come, quickly.”

“Potter,” Seamus says, turning away from Dean, “I’m a little busy here.” The forced smile on his face makes it abundantly clear to Harry that he was only busy attempting to flirt with Dean, and while Harry would congratulate him any other day, now really isn’t the time.

“ _Seamus_ ,” he says, “you _have_ to.”

“He doesn’t have to go anywhere he doesn’t want to,” Dean says, making his presence remembered. “Since when are you two even friends?” Harry’s struck by that; before this year he always would have said that he was closer with Dean than with Seamus. But with Ginny and book club—”

“Book club!” Harry says, his train of thought entirely interrupted. “We’re in a book club together, right Seamus?” Seamus’s eyes widen as he nods slowly. “And we have important book club business to attend to. Right now.”

Seamus gives him a look of understanding and turns back to Dean. “I’ve got to run with Harry,” he says, “see you at Astronomy, yeah?”

Dean looks downright disturbed that his best friend is abandoning him for Harry of all people. “Seamus wait—” but Harry doesn’t hear the end of the sentence, as he’s grabbed onto the end of Seamus’s robes and begun to drag him through to grounds.

“Potter,” Seamus says, “where the hell are we going?” Harry doesn’t answer him, simply looks around and shoves Seamus behind the nearest bush. “Ouch!” the other boy says, rubbing his head as Harry kneels down next to him. “Be more careful Potter, don’t want anyone to think we’re doing something untoward.”

“It would probably make Dean jealous. Did you _see_ how confused he was when you left?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Seamus says. “Do you think…” he shakes his head, snapping himself out of whatever path his brain was going down. “Are you going to tell me why we’re here?”

“Shh,” Harry says, pointing to the thick-trunked willow tree (the _other_ one, not the whomping one), “ _look_.”

Seamus does look, his jaw dropping as soon as his eyes land on what Harry’s directing him towards.

Lavender is leaning against the tree, with Parvati asleep in between her legs and leaning her back against the other girl’s chest. Lavender’s textbook was abandoned slightly to their left, while the taller girl played with Parvati’s hair. But beyond the general adorableness of the scene, it was the way Lavender was looking at Parvati that had drawn Harry to them.

Even though Parvati was fast asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling and her eyes long past closed, well— Lavender is looking at her as if she has finally discovered Parvati’s eyes were the correct shade of brown.

Clearly Seamus sees it too, from the way he smiles softly at the tableu in front of them. He turns to Harry and says “We can’t tell her you know. As much as we want to, we can’t. Lavender has to figure it out on her own.” Harry nods resolutely and Seamus sighs. “Though for her sake, I hope she figures it out soon.”

Harry takes one more look at the two girls leaned against the tree, and at the way Lavender looks at her best friend. “I’m sure she will,” he says.

**xxi. it was the wrong guy**

“Wait,” Harry asks, “how long have you guys been doing this for?”

Seamus looks at Parvati and shrugs. “In some form or another, since about third year?”

Parvati nods. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrow in concentration. “Wait, but, Parvati, we went to the ball together in fourth year.”

“Yeah, because neither of us wanted to go alone,” Parvati says slowly, looking at him incredulously, “Harry, we were on the same page, you know that right?” Harry turns bright red. “ _Harry_ ,” Parvati says, sounding entirely scandalized.

“Merlin, Patil,” Seamus says, grinning widely, “Potter thought you were in love with him.”

“Sorry Harry,” Parvati says, smiling sweetly with her tongue between her teeth, “it’s only ever been my Lavender for me.”

“And don’t we know it,” Harry mutters under his breath, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. Seamus barks out a laugh while Parvati grins.

“What can I say, Potter? I’m a one woman kind of gal.”

Harry glances at Seamus conspiratorially, and the other boy returns his look with a grin. A silent message of _and your best friend seems to be very much the same way_ is exchanged, but unfortunately not in a manner unnoticed by their friend.

“What on earth was that?” Parvati asks, nearly shrieking. “Are we making fun of me for being a monogamist now?”

It’s so entirely in the opposite direction of where he thought she was headed, Harry doesn’t even have the time to feel relieved that they haven’t been found out. “Excuse me?” Seamus asks, clearly as thrown off as Harry.

Parvati’s eyes narrow as she looks between the two of them accusingly. “I hear things, you know!” she starts. “Things like you two running off holding hands, shoving each other behind bushes… I get that it feels hopeless but that doesn’t mean you two need to, or should quite frankly, start shacking up with each other!”

As the implication of her assertion settles in, Harry looks at Seamus. They start off giggling but when Parvati says, “It’s not funny! Do you know how awfully this could all go wrong?” it turns into full out belly laughs. They’re like that for the next twenty minutes, Parvati working herself up even more, in turn making them laugh even harder.

By the time they’ve stopped, Harry’s had enough time to think about a reasonable excuse for why he was spotted by apparently three other students shoving Seamus behind a bush.

**xxii. your nemeses, will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing**

When Harry chugs the _Felix_ , he worries that Slughorn’s memory not being the only desire on his mind might disrupt the process, because he knows in his heart that _that’s_ what’s most important. Defeating Voldemort, keeping everyone safe, that has to come first.

But then he hears Lavender shouting at Ron behind him, and he hears Ginny start to berate Dean for pushing her out of the portrait hole and he can’t help but smile to himself. Because maybe, just maybe, the simple things like happiness are just as important as the fate of the world.

**xxiii. when i dropped my sword, I threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door**

The day Harry used _Sectumsempra_ on Malfoy was one of the scariest of his life. He truly didn’t know what the spell was going to do and if he had he never would have used it in a million years. And then with the detention and disappointing his teammates, his friends, not to mention the fact that he nearly _murdered_ someone—

So yeah. All around, a pretty shit day.

It was just him and Ginny left in the common room, and he couldn’t even find it in himself to be happy about the time alone with her. Since she’d broken up with Dean they’d hung out more, which usually caused him unbridled joy, but now he just felt… _tense_.

He was flipping through pages of Ron’s copy of _Advanced Potions Making_ , but he hasn’t read a single world. Ginny’s eyes are glaring angry holes into the side of his head, and he’s too stressed to focus, so he snaps the book shut, loudly. “Right then,” he says sharply, turning to Ginny, “let’s hear it then.”  
  


Ginny gapes at him a moment, surprised by his outburst. “You have absolutely no right,” she says, just as angrily as she seems, “to even _think_ about talking to me like that. I’m properly pissed off at you, you know.”

“Please,” Harry says, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he stands and walks over to her, “enlighten me as to what grievous offense I’ve committed against you this evening. Because as far as I’m concerned, you’re not bleeding on the floor in front of me.” Harry regrets the words as soon as they come out of his mouth, because it’s not like Ginny’s never been bleeding out on the floor in front of him before.

Ginny looks shocked, almost as if she’s recalling the same scene he just did, before her face twists back up. “How _dare_ you,” she hisses, rising to meet him. “All I try to do is look out for you and you decide to murder Malfoy and that’s _my_ fault?”

“What happened to being glad I had something up my sleeve?” Harry seethes. “It was all well and good when you were yelling at Hermione that Malfoy could have used an unforgivable on me!”

“Sue me for not wanting you to die!” Ginny screams back at the top of her lungs. The noise quiets them both, leaving the two of them breathing heavily in the common room and staring at each other, both unsure of what to say next.

It’s Ginny who shows her true Gryffindor spirit by talking first. “You forget that I know what he’s like,” Ginny says. “Tom, I mean.”

And how is it that he always forgets? That Ginny wasn’t a passive player in the events of his second year, that Tom had spent months invading her every thought, her every waking moment and manipulating her. “We’ve never talked about it much,” Harry admits weakly, not much of an excuse.

Ginny nods. “That’s by design. But I know what he’s like Harry. And if you had been running after him in that bathroom there would have been no hesitation. A quick killing curse and you’d be done for.” Harry looks at her expectantly, feeling like she’s not quite done. “There’s a difference between being brave and being reckless, Harry. And if you’re reckless with him, with Tom, you’re going to die.”

“Maybe,” Harry says softly, “you could help me? Teach me the difference, and I promise I’ll come back.” The _to you_ is unspoken, but he hopes to dear god she understands it. That she sees how much he cares about her.

She takes a moment to let it sink in before giving him a small smile. “Lesson number one,” she says, “it is reckless rather than brave to yell at Hermione Granger.”

Harry snorts. “You told her she was unknowledgeable about quidditch. You know she how hates being unknowledgeable.”

“Merlin,” Ginny sighs as she collapses backwards, back onto the chair, “I really did say that didn’t I? She going to be furious. _I’m_ going to have to apologize.” She shudders at the thought before turning back to Harry. “That’s your fault, too.”

“But of course,” he responds, feeling the warmth creep back into his stomach. “I don’t think anything can be worse today, so blame anything wrong on me.”

Ginny pauses for a moment. “Okay,” she says, “then it’s also your fault that a Blast-Ended Skrewt bit me today, as well as the fact that my cauldron tipped over in potions.”

Harry nods. “Naturally.”

“And can it also maybe be your fault,” Ginny asks, somewhat shyly, “that I feel a lot happier than I should be? Considering the fact that everything’s falling to pieces around us.”

_That’s not a confession_ , Harry has to remind himself, _not even close_. But he can’t stamp down the giddiness rising up in him. Even if she doesn’t mean it the same way he does, the fact that he can make her happy, even a little bit, is somehow the most important thing in the world to him right now. “Absolutely,” he says, “as long as it’s okay that it’s kind of your fault that I’m happier than I should be too.”

“Hey!” Ginny says, grinning. “I thought we agreed that _everything_ was your fault today.” And Harry can’t help but laugh.

**xxiv. i’m all about you**

Somehow, book club has become rather peaceful.

Well, “peaceful”, might be the wrong word for it. They still yell and fall out of chairs and cover their mouths with their hands so quickly it makes a noise. The three of them are as rambunctious as ever.

But, Harry has noticed, that book club is becoming something of a reset for him these days. As Parvati and Seamus are having a heated discussion about the merits of surprise kissing your best friend, which is well on its way to escalating into a full blown screaming match, Harry can’t help but smile and realize that the Room of Requirement with these two has become just as much a home to him as so many other places and people in Hogwarts.

“Wait,” Parvati says, interrupting her own point on why surprise kissing should be a no-go, “why did you even bring this up, Seamus?”

Seamus turns bright red which makes Harry grin. An embarrassed Seamus is nearly always an entertaining Seamus. “Dean asked me if I could meet him after the quidditch match tonight,” Seamus says softly, “didn’t tell me what it’s about, just that he had something important to tell me.”

Parvati’s jaw drops while Harry practically hoots, clapping the other boy on the back. “Good for you, Seamus!”

“I really don’t know what it’s about!” Seamus insists. “But hey, it’ll be after a game, he’ll be high on adrenaline whether we win or lose, and I’m tired of waiting around. It’s been a few weeks since he and Ginny split and, well, I just want to know.”

Harry grins as Parvati finally catches herself. “I hope it goes well for you Seamus,” she says, “truly.”

“We’ll have to kick you out of book club,” Harry threatens.

Seamus snorts. “Please, Potter. I _invented_ book club.”

“ _I_ invented book club,” Parvati says. Then she cocks her head and asks, “Do you all ever think we should maybe read an actual book once in a while?”

“That’s why Hermione wouldn’t join,” Harry says, “so do with that what you will.”

“Anyway,” Parvati continues, “I believe in you Seamus! You got this.”

Seamus smirks. “Here’s to hoping I don’t chicken out.”

“You bloody well better not,” Harry says, thinking of his own fears of a post-match Dean and Ginny reunion. “Sha la la, kiss the boy, you know.” Seamus snorts but Parvati looks at him confused. “You know, _The Little Mermaid_?” Harry asks, hoping to see a look of recognition on her face. When none appears, he says, “Merlin, after our love lives the next thing this book club is getting sorted is Disney films.”

“Deal,” Seamus said firmly, before looking down at his watch and sighing. “We better get going.”

Parvati looked at him sadly. “You sure you’re going to be okay?” Though no one knew exactly why, the news that the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team was unable to attend his own final cup game travelled fast. “You know, I don’t even like quidditch all that much. Lav and I really only go so that we can dress up.”

“Nah,” Harry says, surprised to find that he means it. “You should dress up cute with your girlfriend-to-be. Plus, I have detention anyway, remember?”

“It’s totally bollocks,” Seamus says. “Snape obviously just doesn’t want Gryffindor to win the quidditch cup.”

Harry shrugs. “I’m over it at this point I mean, I did my mourning, I coached my team to the best of my ability… hopefully it pays off.”

“I’m sure it will,” Parvati says, smiling reassuringly. “Now come on, Seamus! We’ll miss it if we don’t leave now.” The three of them get up and leave the Room of Requirement. They stop for a moment in front of the door, and usually they would all be going in separate directions or they would all head back to the Common Room together. Today, though, Seamus and Parvati are headed back to Gryffindor Tower while Harry’s on his way to the dungeons.

Parvati surges forward to give Harry a tight hug, surprising him. He clutches her back as she leans up to whisper to him, “I’m glad I invited you.”

Harry chuckles and lets her go. “Now remember,” he says, looking at both of them, “it’s totally on you whether or not Gryffindor wins tonight. It’s all about how loud you cheer, okay?”

Seamus gives him a mock salute. “We’ll get the troops excited so the team wins, sir yes sir!” He laughs before finishing. “And when the team wins, hopefully a particular redhead will be particularly excited enough to give your dumb arse a shot.”

“Ron?” Harry asks, playing dumb. Seamus barks out a laugh in response. “Now go on! I’ll see you two, _and Ginny_ ,” he adds, after Seamus gives him a look, “after the game, win, lose, or draw.”

“There are no draws in quidditch,” Parvati says huffily, “even _I_ know that.” Harry gives them a wave as Seamus starts to drag Parvati off, and he turns on his heel to walk in the other direction. He wonders if Seamus’s insistence on him finally making a move of Ginny tonight meant that he was having the same adrenaline-related concerns Harry was.

That was a problem for later though. As much as he wished he could at least be out there cheering the team on, he knew that he needed to visit Snape on pain of his own death. Talking to Ginny needed to wait, for both their sakes.

After all, Harry had a detention to attend. And Ginny had a quidditch match to win.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment or kudos to show me you care! follow me on tumblr [remusloopins](https://remusloopins.tumblr.com/)


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